Police officer plans to run for district judge

Howard Daniels said he wants to serve more people, and winning a district judge seat would give him that opportunity.

Daniels, a lieutenant in the Northeastern Regional Police Department, has announced his plans to run for the vacant District 19-3-11, which covers East Manchester and Hellam townships, Hallam and Wrightsville.

"I'm hoping to serve people in a different capacity than I have in my police work," said Daniels, 56, of East Manchester Township. "(As district judge), I could reach a larger area and serve more people."

Daniels has been in law enforcement for 34 years. He is a 1975 graduate of New Oxford High School and studied police science, now called criminal justice, at York College.

In 1979, Daniels became a police officer with Mount Wolf Police Department, which eventually merged with other area departments to form the Northeastern Regional Police.

Daniels, who is married and has an adult daughter, said he is a member of York County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 73 and Zeredatha Masonic Lodge No. 451 in York.

The Hatch issue: Daniels said he decided he wanted to run for the district judge seat a couple of months ago, but waited to make sure he was not violating the Hatch Act, which prohibited state and local government employees whose jobs are tied to federal funding from participating in partisan elections.

However, in December, Congress passed the Hatch Act Modernization Act that relieves most restrictions on state and local employees.

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They are now subject to the Hatch Act only if their salaries are entirely funded by federal loans or grants.

The changes went into effect Sunday.

"Prior to Jan. 27, I wouldn't be able to run without resigning my current position," said Daniels, who is running for office for the first time.

Daniels said he has a lot of law enforcement experience to bring to the district judge seat.

"I have a lot of general knowledge of the law, and I'm familiar with the area and the people," he said. "Even (several) people I've arrested have said I was tough, but I was fair. As a district judge, I would be fair, compassionate and I would be tough with repeat offenders."